I played in a charity poker event last week at — believe it or not — the same temple where I had my Bar mitzvah so many years ago. Nothing like pocket tens and torahs to brighten up an evening. Before I took my seat, I wondered how the big man upstairs felt about a bunch of old Jewish dudes gambling in his sacred place of worship. Maybe he was just upset he didn’t get dealt in.

The tournament organizer was an older gentlemen, doing his best to consolidate tables, distribute chips, etc. I don’t want to say the tourney was poorly run but it wasn’t exactly a night out at the Hard Rock.

I knew I was in for a frustrating night when he announced that, in order to avoid confusion, he didn’t want anyone dealing to burn cards. My old poker regulars would have stormed out in protest at the unheard of change in protocol but I went with the flow since my stepdad graciously funded my buy-in.

Since my bankroll has been a touch light lately, I haven’t played much hold ‘em, so my chops were a bit rusty. By evening’s end, I fared well, finishing in the top 10 out of about 70 players, but still unfortunately out of the money. Only the top three paid.

This article appears in Feb 17-23, 2010.